Why Do Sugary Drinks Extra Tax

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Sugary soft drinks – extra tax or not?

A lot of countries tax various products which are bad for the public like alcohol and tobacco. Also, sugary drinks are more and more in the focus of getting taxed. Governments in Hungary, French, Mexico and others already introduced such a tax. As sugar is bad for people’s health, a tax influences both consumers and manufacturers behaviour positively, a tax on sugary soft drinks should be introduced everywhere.
The health benefits of a lower sugar consumption are commonly known. Sugar increases the medical risks of many diseases as diabetes, overweight and bad teeth when used too much in daily nutrition. The outcome can for example be seen in Mexico, the fourth-biggest country when it comes to drinking sugary soft drinks. In 2012 the clear majority of Mexicans where overweight and in 2009 12% of Mexicans had diabetes, which was also the reason for 14% of all deaths in this year. This also results in a big amount of money that needs to be spend on health care. Especially for the poor, who don’t have the same access to health care as the rich, this is a growing problem. As a Mexican
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That is contrary to the partial belief that they may absorb the increased prices rather than rising the retail prices for the consumer. A working paper even states that in Mexico prices of soft drinks rose by 30% more than the tax itself demanded. While the demand for sugary drinks declines since they became more expensive, Mexicans turn to a better alternative: in 2014 5.2% more bottled water was sold than before. The sugary drinks tax seems to have the biggest impact on the parts of society with a lower income. With a decrease of 17% in buying soft drinks the poor reacted the strongest on the changed prices. As they have an even worse access to health care than other parts of society this is a very positive